Live on swissinfo.ch - High Adventure on Switzerland's Borders

06.07.2011 – 08:30

Bern (ots) - The adventure continues - the American climber and writer John Harlin III begins the third and final chapter of his attempt to travel the entire 2,000km Swiss border on July 6. After paddling and cycling along the northern and western borders, this summer he will climb the thin, and often dangerous, alpine line that separates Switzerland from its southern neighbours. Follow John's adventure through his multimedia Border Stories, live on swissinfo.ch, Facebook and Twitter.

"This summer will be by far the hardest part of the journey. If I were to stay on the exact border, it would involve about 280,000 vertical meters of up and down, but the plan is to follow more trails and not to climb every mountain. If I stick to that plan, it is only 220,000 vertical meters! That is like climbing Mt. Everest 12 times round trip from the sea," explains John, who is looking forward to this most challenging stretch of frontier.

While John does the hard work, armchair 'mountaineers' can follow his progress through his online multimedia diary, available on swissinfo.ch/harlin, Facebook and Twitter, and pinpoint his exact location thanks to a customized and integrated Google Map. John is using a smartphone instead of pen and paper, allowing him not only to take notes, snap pictures and shoot videos, but also to upload them in near real-time at the exact location on the map where they were recorded. And fans of the adventure can follow John's ups and downs on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/swissborders ). Before the start of the alpine section of Border Stories, more than 21,000 people from around the world had already decided they 'like this', and could receive the latest Border Stories updates directly on Facebook.

John Harlin began his tour de force on June 23, 2010, on the southern shore of Lake Geneva in the village of St Gingolph, which borders France. His goal was to round Switzerland in three months, but he suffered a setback after about 10 days: he broke both his feet while climbing the Aiguilles Rouge du Mont Dolent on the French border. The intrepid mountaineer was determined to resume his journey once the bones had healed, and at the beginning of October 2010 he was back, paddling along Switzerland's northern border with Germany (the Rhine River and Lake Constance), mountain biking its wild western frontier with France and kayaking across Lake Geneva. Harlin now begins the final and toughest chapter of his frontier odyssey - the Alps.

John Harlin III was born in 1956 and grew up in Germany and Leysin, Switzerland. After his father died attempting to be the first to climb the direct route up the north face of the Eiger in 1966, his family returned to the US to live. He finally climbed the Eiger north face himself in 2005, a feat that was the focus of the popular IMAX film, The Alps. John is the editor of the American Alpine Journal (published by the American Alpine Club since 1929) and a contributing editor to Backpacker magazine.